The present invention relates to a multi-piece solid golf ball composed of a core on which an intermediate layer and a cover have been formed as successive layers. More specifically, the invention relates to a multi-piece solid golf ball which has an excellent flight performance and feel and has a good durability to repeated impact and a good scuff resistance.
The major performance attributes required of golf balls include distance, controllability, durability and feel on impact; balls having the highest levels of such attributes are constantly being sought. In this context, there has emerged among recent golf balls a succession of balls with multilayer structures—typically three-piece balls. Providing a golf ball with a multilayer structure makes it possible to combine many materials of differing properties; by assigning various functions to the respective layers, a wide diversity of ball designs can be achieved.
Among such golf balls, wide use is made of multi-piece solid golf balls in which the hardness relationships between each layer, such as an intermediate layer encasing the core and a cover layer, have been optimized. In recent years, elements regarded to be important in assessing ball performance include not only the flight performance, but also the durability of the ball to cracking and the scuff resistance—which is the ability to suppress burr formation on the ball surface. Therefore, designing the thickness, hardness and other properties of the respective ball layers in such a way as to maximize these desirable effects is a major challenge. Also, golf balls are commonly used not only by professionals and other skilled golfers, by also by amateur golfers having a relatively low head speed. Accordingly, there is a desire for the development of golf balls which, even when used by amateur golfers, enable a sufficient distance to be achieved.
Hence, there exists a need for golf balls which satisfy the conflicting demands for improved distance, controllability, durability and feel. In particular, there exists a desire for the development of a golf ball which, on shots with a driver, increases the distance by keeping the spin rate low and, on shots with an iron, provides a suitable spin rate, exhibits good controllability, and has an excellent durability to cracking and scuff resistance.
Art relating to the present invention is disclosed in, for example, JP-A 2003-190330, JP-A 2004-049913, JP-A 2002-315848, JP-A 2001-54588, JP-A 2002-85588, JP-A 2002-85589, JP-A 2002-85587, JP-A 2002-186686, JP-A 2009-34505 and JP-A 2005-211656. However, further improvement has been desired.